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A Breath of Fresh Air Reviewed by Michael S. Rose |
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Reconquering Sacred Space Edited by Cristiano Rosponi and Giampaolo Rossi Il Bosco e la Nave, 1999 150 pages, $29.95 |
After more than half a century of riding the modernist bandwagon, professional artists and architects are emerging with critiques of our secularized churches. And unlike the layman, they are able to articulate the problem and define appropriate solutions. In recent years some have been actively probing tradition in order to develop the domus Dei of the 21st century. One hopeful sign of the revival of traditional architecture was an exhibition and conference held last October in Rome.
"Reconquering Sacred Space" brought together more than forty artists and architects from the U.S. and Europe to showcase their traditional church designs, in hopes of promoting sacred architecture that can properly carry the weight of religious symbolism and provide a suitable and noble place in which to worship God. The work is now presented in a 150-page color folio of the exhibition. Published in English and Italian, Reconquering Sacred Space presents inspiring drawings and plans of theoretical projects as well as completed buildings.
Notre Dame architects Duncan Stroik and Thomas Gordon Smith are joined by American architects such as Henry Menzies and Michael Imber, as well as notable European counterparts, including Javier Cotelo, Anthony Delarue, and Santiago Hernandez. The frescoes, murals, and sculptures of artists David Mayernik, Hamilton Reed Armstrong, and Frederick Hart give us hope that sacred art is undergoing a renaissance as well.
Ten essays on the tradition of Classical architecture, the importance of symbolism and iconography, the limitations of abstract modernism, and new directions in sacred architecture complement the visual projects. In Stroik’s contribution, the Indiana architect articulates the ideal genius loci of the Catholic church building: "People should see and feel that they are entering into a place out of the ordinary, a place in which the concerns of life can be seen in relation to eternity." A certain sense of mystery or strangeness ought to characterize our places of worship, he suggests. "A sacred place should not be convenient to enter like a department store, comfortable like a café, or predictable like a lecture hall," writes Stroik. "Rather as a place whose reason for existence is to foster the encounter with the divine, it must be designed in a way helping us to focus on the Divinity."
Although some of the more fashionable gewgaws of the day (immersion-style fonts, for example) have made their way into some of the featured projects, the majority are fully conceived and executed against the grain of modernism, and all projects are recognizable as church buildings, a point that should not be undervalued. One of the central themes running through the selected projects, in fact, is the emphasis on the "iconic" nature of building form. In layman’s terms that means the form of the church building has meaning beyond itself; it refers to God, His Sacraments, His Church.
We see bas-reliefs of the Eucharist, personification of the virtues, urban piazzas, and triumphal arches, all imbued with layers of religious meaning and significance—churches that are worth a pilgrim’s attention, and are able to care for a parish community for more than a generation. The same careful treatment is given the interior sacred places. Architectural elements articulate the sanctuary, altar, tabernacle, confessional, altar rail and shrines within. The architects consciously give honor to the sacraments through the placement and treatment of these physical manifestations of our faith. Furthermore, coherence and unity are apparent in these buildings which are designed using the patrimony of Classical or Medieval architectural languages.
Another noteworthy element of the exhibition and essays is the relation of the church building to the city. In Gabriele Tagliaventi’s essay on the role of the church in building western cities, he reminds us of the physical role of the Gothic church standing above the medieval cityscape, organizing the village. Speaking of the great Cathedral of St. Etienne in Metz, Germany, he notes that "all the main activities are gathered around the Cathedral: City Hall, the marketplace, leaving the religious building the task of symbolizing the spiritual unity of the community." He and others are promoting the revival of piazzas, the age-old element of mediation between the Church and the city, and other elements of Renaissance urbanism. God willing, more people will come to understand the church building as more than just its four walls, but as the heart of the city or neighborhood, the lungs of the community.
In short, the book gives those of us who are unable to attend such wonderful gatherings in Rome each year an opportunity to understand the possibilities of new Catholic church architecture based on the traditional language of the Church. What a wonderful counter to the banal and uninspiring designs promoted throughout the Catholic world at the turn of the century. The final word is hope, and the casual reader can appreciate this important virtue on every page of the book.
The exhibition was jointly organized by Stroik’s Institute of Sacred Architecture and the Agenzia per la Citta of Rome. Reconquering Sacred Spaces is available from New Hope Publications for $34.95 (including postage and handling), 3050 Gap Knob Rd., New Hope, Ky. 40052.
Michael S. Rose is author of several books on church architecture, including In Tiers of Glory and Ugly As Sin. He is Editor of dellachiesa.com.
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